MERCYHURST (3-21-2, 3-13-2 AHA) vs. SACRED HEART  (13-10-2, 9-6-3 AHA)
Friday, Feb. 6 – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 7 – 3 p.m.
Fairfield, Conn.   
TV: Flo Hockey
 
The Mercyhurst men's hockey team begins the month of February with a series at Sacred Heart. Puck drop for game one is set for Friday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. Game two will begin at 3 p.m. the following day. Viewers can find live coverage on Flo Hockey. 
 
Previous Results
The Lakers have won three of their last eight games. They have shut out an AHA opponent twice in their past four series. They began the year at No. 12 Michigan and followed with a home series vs. Union. This series started a seven-game stretch on home ice. They began AHA play by hosting Holy Cross and then hosted UMass Lowell and Bentley. In November, they dropped a pair of tight conference matchups at RIT and Canisius. At the end of the month, they had a home-and-home against RMU. The Lakers picked up a point at RMU where they tied 1-1 before falling 3-2 in the shootout. Their lone matchup in December was a road contest at Holy Cross where they fell 4-1. 
 
The team began 2026 by traveling to No. 4 North Dakota. The Lakers fell 2-0 in game one and 6-1 in game two. Charles-Edward Gravel had an impressive showing with a career-high 46 saves in game one. Mercyhurst followed this with a series split at home vs. Army. They shut out the Black Knights 3-0 in game one and then got shut out 5-0 in game two. The Lakers then swept Niagara in a crucial home-and-home series that narrowed the gap in the AHA standings. They beat the Purple Eagles 3-0 in game one and 4-2 in game two. The first game had just two penalties, but the second game had 26. The team was then played Canisius. In game one, they overcame a two-goal deficit to claim a 3-2 lead. The Golden Griffins clawed their way back, won that game, and won the next day. Most recently, the Lakers picked up a point in a 2-2 draw against (RV) RIT in a series split. 
 
Matchup History
Mercyhurst's record against Sacred Heart is very close. They are 31-32-8 against the Pioneers. The first contest took place Nov. 13, 1999, where the Lakers won 3-2 in OT. They then won the next three games. The Pioneers first win came on March 3, 2001, 5-3. The series evened out just as Sacred Heart began a hot streak in 2006. The Pioneers won seven-straight matchups from January of 2006 to November of 2007. Mercyhurst found a streak of their own several years later. From January of 2012 to January of 2015, the Lakers won eight consecutive games. Sacred Heart has had their share of success as of late. Since January of 2010, they have won eight of the last 12 matchups. In that span, they also won three shootouts. The Lakers have only won one game since then. The series is very close. Sacred Heart is 16-11-3 at home vs. Mercyhurst. They also average three goals a game against them. All the stats say this could be an interesting series in Connecticut.
 
Lakers to Look Out for
Will Schumacher (8G, 5A, 13 PTS) leads the Laker's scoring and points column. Schumacher has scored six goals in his last 13 games. He scored a goal and recorded two assists in game two vs. Niagara and in game one vs. Canisius. 
 
Dominik Bartecko has five goals and five assists. His ten points are tied for second on the team.  Bartecko had a two-point weekend in the team's home-and-home with Robert Morris at the end of November. Here, the Nashville native scored at home and assisted a powerplay goal on the road. To start 2026, Bartecko fired a rocket into the top left corner of the net to briefly give the Lakers a 1-0 lead at No. 4 North Dakota. He also scored an empty-netter against Army in the Laker's 3-0 win. Most recently, he scored and assisted in a 2-2 tie with (RV) RIT. 
 
Jacob LeBlanc leads the team assists with 10. J. LeBlanc recorded six assists in nine games throughout October and November. He recorded an assist on the powerplay with Bartecko in the team's 1-1 draw at Robert Morris. To start 2026, he assisted a goal in each game against Niagara and in game one vs. Canisius. 
 
Jacob's brother, Andrew LeBlanc, is third on the team with nine points. A. LeBlanc has four goals and five assists. He scored a goal and added an assist in game one vs. Canisius. This was his second multi-point game of the season. Last weekend, the LeBlanc brothers connected for A. LeBlanc's goal against (RV) RIT. 
 
Defensively, Caleb Price, Christian Kocsis, and John Larkin have led the way in stopping shots. Price leads the team with 35 blocks. He also had two points against (RV) RIT last weekend. Kocsis (2G, 2A, 4 PTS, 34 BLKS) and Larkin (1G, 2A, 3 PTS, 33 BLKS) follow Price in blocks. 
 
Between the pipes, Charles-Edward Gravel has played the most games, 22. The Quebec native has a .903 save percentage, the highest on the team. Gravel had a career-high 46 saves in the Laker's narrow 2-0 loss to No. 4 North Dakota in game one. He picked up his first shutout and made 39 saves in the team's 3-0 win against Army two weeks ago. He then made 26 saves and kept his second consecutive shutout in a 3-0 win against Niagara. 
 
Salvatore Evola started against Niagara in game two of the first home-and-home series. Here, he made a season-high 36 saves in the teams 4-2 victory. 
 
Scouting Sacred Heart  

• The Pioneers are 13-10-3 overall and 9-6-3 in conference play. 
• They opened the year at RIT, where they swept the Tigers with a 1-0 shutout in game one and a 6-1 win in game two.  
• They then lost to Stonehill in their home opener, 3-2. 
• Their biggest test of first month came on Oct. 24/25 where they played at No. 14/15 Ohio State. The Pioneers upset the Buckeyes 2-1 in OT and then fell 3-0 in game two. 
• They lost to Holy Cross and then beat them in a shootout to close a packed month. 
• In November, they got swept by Air Force, swept Canisius, and beat LIU, 7-2, before their Ireland trip. Here, they lost to No. 20/RV Union and then shutout RIT, 3-0. 
• They split with Army before sweeping RMU to begin the new year. 
• The Pioneers then swept Niagara and beat (RV) Bentley to win their fifth-straight game. 
• They fell 5-1 to #6/7 Quinnipiac and then beat Yale, 3-2. 
• Most recently, they were swept by Air Force. 
• Felix Trudeau (21G, 8A, 29 PTS), Marcus Joughin (2G, 20A, 22 PTS), and Aiden VanRooyen (1G, 8A, 9 PTS, 53 BLKS) lead Scared Heart in goals, assists, points, and blocks.